Labor & Employment Law

Labor Attorney Eugene Lee Wins $500k and $235k Appeals, Defeats $10 mil. Lawsuit

Posted on March 20, 2020
Congratulations to Eugene Lee, Esq. for winning two separate appeals in the 2d District Court of Appeal. The result allows his clients to keep the $506,000 and $235,000 in judgments he won for each... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

California Meal Break & Rest Break Law (2020) ? Quick Calculator + Charts

Posted on September 01, 2018
Under California meal break law (which is much more generous to employees than federal labor law), if you are a non-exempt worker, you are entitled to a 30-minute uninterrupted, duty-free meal break... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Final Paychecks ? When Are They Due? (2020)

Posted on August 01, 2018
A question I hear a lot is: “I just left my job, when is my employer supposed to pay me my last paycheck?” The answer is: it depends. If you were fired or laid off If the employer ended... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Are Employers Required to Give Holiday Pay or Paid Holidays? (2020)

Posted on November 09, 2017
When it comes to holidays, many employers in California and across the country tend to give employees either the day off with pay (“paid holiday”), or give extra pay for hours worked... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

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?Sharp? Defense Lawyers Smacked Down by Appeals Court

Posted on October 17, 2017
Ever wonder what would happen if a lawyer tried to “pull a fast one” on a trial court judge? Wonder no more. In Francisco Diaz v Prof. Community Mgt., Inc., a case decided in October 2017... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Can Employers Require Employees to Remain on Premises? (2020)

Posted on July 22, 2017
A reader of this blog recently asked an intriguing question: “Your boss may require you to remain on work premises during your rest break.: Is this still true after the recent California... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

California Supremes Limit Arbitration Waivers

Posted on April 06, 2017
The key excerpt from this latest ruling from the California Supreme Court, McGill v Citybank, says it all: In previous decisions, this court has said that the statutory remedies available for a... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

My Boss 1099s Me, Am I Really an Independent Contractor? (2020)

Posted on January 16, 2017
If your boss gives you a 1099 tax form each year, does that mean you are an independent contractor? What if you signed an independent contractor agreement? What if you submit invoices to your boss to... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Can My Boss Fire Me at Any Time for Any Reason? What is ?at will?? (2020)

Posted on January 21, 2013
“At-Will”. California is an “at-will” employment state. What does this mean? In most cases, it means that your boss can fire you at any time for almost any reason or no reason... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

What Happens to Huge Verdicts AFTER the Headlines

Posted on January 19, 2013
Multi-million dollar verdicts routinely headline the news. But what few seem to know is what happens to those verdicts long after the jury and the public have moved on. More often than not, those... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

The Importance of the Judge to Your Lawsuit

Posted on October 10, 2010
The Judgment of King Solomon Remember the tale of King Solomon and the dispute over the baby? The tale is recounted in the Bible in 1 Kings 3:16-28. According to the tale, two prostitutes who lived together each had an infant son. One prostitute accidentally smothered her son while sleeping, and then switched her dead [...

When Creditors Come Knocking: Asset Protection Tips for Employees

Posted on March 05, 2010
The following article was contributed by our friends at the trusts and estates law firm, The Law Offices of Ernest J. Kim In the current economic climate, many employers are no longer able to generate the same amount of income they did just a couple years ago...

Leave Rights in California: Part 2

Posted on February 01, 2010
Getting hurt or sick is no fun, but what’s worse is worrying that you’ll lose your job if you take time off to recover. That’s why employee medical leaves are protected under both the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the analogous California Family Rights Act (CFRA)...

Leave Rights in California: Part 1

Posted on January 25, 2010
Getting hurt or sick is no fun, but what’s worse is worrying that you’ll lose your job if you take time off to recover. That’s why employee medical leaves are protected under both the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the analogous California Family Rights Act (CFRA)...

Filing a Discrimination Complaint in California

Posted on January 19, 2010
In California, employees who wish to file a discrimination lawsuit cannot do so until they first file “charges” with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and/or the California Department of Fair Employment & Housing (DFEH) and obtain “right to sue” letters...

Sexual Harassment in California

Posted on January 14, 2010
It’s hard to believe that sexual harassment still occurs in the modern workplace, but it does. Luckily, Federal and California state laws offer powerful protections against workplace sexual harassment. Under the law, there are two main types of sexual harassment: “Sleep with me if you want to keep your job” Quid pro quo sexual harassment is the type [...

Discrimination Laws in California

Posted on January 08, 2010
Both Federal and California laws prohibit discrimination in the workplace based on an employee’s “protected characteristics”. Under California’s broad, pro-employee laws (perhaps the best in the US), “protected characteristics” mean: “race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, marital status, sex, age, or sexual orientation”...

Los Angeles Courthouses Facing Closure: Expect Big Delays

Posted on January 02, 2010
According to an article in the Pasadena Star News, “L.A. County Superior Court faces budget ax; nine courthouses could close”, up to 9 of Los Angeles County’s 50 courthouses may be closed due to California’s ongoing budget crisis...

Happy Holidays and All the Best in 2010

Posted on December 24, 2009
2009 was a year to forget. Recession (near Depression), bailouts, record unemployment ? all added up to human despair on a scale never before witnessed in recent US memory. At times like this, it becomes all the more important to remember the important things in life, your friends, your loved ones, and compassion for those [...

How to Read an Employment Contract: Part 2

Posted on December 22, 2009
Not all employers use employment contracts and not all employees get one. When employment contracts do come into play, they can come in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes they are not written down but have to be pieced together from multiple conversations and emails...

How to Read an Employment Contract: Part 1

Posted on December 17, 2009
Not all employers use employment contracts and not all employees get one. When employment contracts do come into play, they can come in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes they are not written down but have to be pieced together from multiple conversations and emails...

Should Workers Be Paid for Answering Emails After Hours?

Posted on December 11, 2009
In today’s high-tech world, a constant connection to the web and phone comes at a price for workers: all too often, the office comes home with you. A Pew Internet & American Life Project 2008 study entitled “Networked Workers: Most Workers Use the Internet or Email at their Jobs, but They Say These Technologies are [...

How Much Time Do Lawsuits Take?

Posted on December 02, 2009
“You’ll be hearing from my lawyer!” Famous last words. But what does bringing a lawsuit really mean? Make no mistake about it, a lawsuit can be a big commitment, not just in terms of money, but also in time. Your time. I’ve already talked about the costs involved...

Google Offers Caselaw?for FREE

Posted on November 17, 2009
Today Google announced the launch of a free federal and state caselaw database that is lightning fast and extremely powerful. It can be found at the “legal opinions and journals” section of Google Scholar. This is big news. Lawyers around the country are rejoicing now...

Free Pamphlets on Labor and Employment Laws

Posted on October 09, 2009
The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) publishes numerous free pamphlets on California labor and employment laws. These pamphlets provide a brief but helpful and easy-to-understand explanation of employee rights under California’s harassment and discrimination laws...

Free Video Tutorials on Employment & Labor Laws

Posted on October 04, 2009
Interested in a quick overview of California labor and employment laws? Break out the popcorn and turn up your speakers. The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing has released several short videos, 90 seconds to 3 minutes in length each, offering short overviews of housing and employment laws...

District Spends $532k on Lawsuit that Settles for $150k

Posted on October 01, 2009
What’s wrong with this picture? A school district spends $532,123 in legal fees and costs to fight a wrongful termination lawsuit; after more than 2 years of litigation, it ends up settling the case for $150,000. According to an article in the Ventura County Star entitled “District spent $532,123 in lawsuit: Case is settled for $150,000, [...

An Ode to Whistleblowers and the Law: Part II

Posted on September 27, 2009
Have you blown the whistle on illegal conduct at your workplace? If so, there are state and federal laws that could protect you from retaliation by your employer. For instance, the federal Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 prohibits retaliation against employees of publicly-traded companies who report to the government or their supervisor reasonable suspicions of federal [...

We?ve Been Named a Top 100 Legal Blog!

Posted on September 04, 2009
Great news! The Daily Reviewer has just selected “California Labor & Employment Law” as one of its Top 100 Legal Blogs. We’re very excited by the recognition. A big thank you to the hard-working editors at the Daily Reviewer. Keep up the good work and we’ll keep on doing what we’ve been doing and [...

Employers Are Now Screening Employee Facebook and MySpace Pages

Posted on August 20, 2009
Do you have a personal account with Facebook, MySpace, Twitter or any of the other social media websites that have become so popular lately? Chances are you do. Or you will soon. The growth of social media sites has been nothing short of breathtaking...

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